**Lagerfeld’s homage to India is a piece of Wonderland magic
**
LONDON: With his snow-white hair, high-dandy dress sense and penchant for eccentric, provocative soundbites, Karl Lagerfeld is a Lewis Carroll character come to life. Or rather, several Lewis Carroll characters come to life.Last week in Paris, at a long table laid for high tea with a maharaja, around which the world’s most expensive and expensively dressed models paraded in his latest collection, he cast himself as the Queen of Hearts, inspired by India because ‘‘even the poor have dignity there’’.With Wonderland logic, he explained this was evidenced by the fact, in India, ‘‘even poor women own three gold bracelets’’.
Even by his prolific standards, the week was a vintage one for Lagerfeldisms. The designer told reporters backstage after his collection he had never actually been to India. ‘‘Fantasy is often better than reality,’’ he explained. ‘‘It’s much more inspiring not to go to places than to go.’’
A sentiment with which the Mad Hatter would probably agree.
Titled Paris-Bombay, the collection was steeped in an Indian aesthetic: pearl-beaded Nehru-collared jackets were layered over sari-draped dresses and slim, leather churidar trousers, while diamonds hanging from ornate headpieces dipped between the models’ heavily kohled eyes.
The use of Bombay, rather than of Mumbai, was deliberate; Lagerfeld’s India is of an era where the glamour is imperial, rather than Bollywood.
One of his references was a palace designed by the German architect Eckart Muthesius in the 1930s for the maharaja of Indore, which combined modernist furniture by Le Corbusier and Eileen Gray with traditional Indian pieces.
The clothes are certainly not for the hoi polloi. (Not even the ones with bracelets and dignity.) The cost of each garment will make items in Chanel’s London boutique look cheap, since this collection is part of the Metiers d’Arts series, which showcases the craftsmanship of the couture ateliers which Chanel now owns. The lavish hand-embroidery of these clothes is as eyewateringly expensive as it is mouthwateringly lovely.
Indian reaction to the show was mixed. ‘‘Indian fashion can finally claim to have arrived on the international scene, especially when fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld pays an ode to desi styles and trends,’’ India Today enthused
The Hindustan Times took a rather more acid view, noting that if the intention is to woo an Indian customer, ‘‘subtle marketing is clearly not Chanel uber-designer Karl Lagerfeld’s strong point’’.
After the show, a reporter questioned his decision to take inspiration from an India that exists in an imaginary past, rather than visiting the country. ‘‘I’m against reality,’’ he replied. Lewis Carroll would have been proud.
